Declare a game

Patch #9 — Hotfix & Balance Adjustments

June 2, 2026 · v0.80.19

In short

  • ›Schism: series of nerfs (initiatives, speeds) to curb its dominance in Single Hero.
  • ›Hive: broad buff (damage, Hive Queen Initiative, Corpse Eater healing, laws) ahead of schedule.
  • ›Summon Avatar: damage per Spell Power reduced.
  • ›Dungeon: army sizes increased in Arena.
  • ›Vampire Lord and Vampire Scholar: the figures in the official patch notes were incorrect — true values below.
  • ›Several bug fixes, including bugs introduced by Patch 8 itself.

Necropolis

Mixed

Vampire Lord

T7
Defense27▼26
  • •The official patch notes stated "Defense 25 → 26", implying a buff. In the game data, the actual starting value is 27 — making this a nerf (27 → 26), not a buff. The patch notes had the wrong starting value.

Vampire Scholar

T7
Attack25▲27
  • •The official patch notes stated "Attack 26 → 27". In the game data, the actual starting value is 25 — meaning the gain is +2 (25 → 27), not +1.

Buildings

  • •Bone Exchange I (T4 dwelling): 250 gold cheaper.
  • •Bone Exchange II (T4 dwelling): 500 gold cheaper.

Grove

Buff

Faun

T1
Damage3–4▲3–5

Faun Archer

T1
Damage3–4▲3–5

Faun Warrior

T1
Damage4–5▲4–6

Buildings

  • •Shroomwood Shack I (T5 dwelling): 500 gold cheaper.

Hive

Buff

Hive was struggling in Single Hero. The devs are bringing forward improvements originally planned for later: damage increased, growth improved, laws made more accessible.

Weekly Growth

  • •Tier 1: base growth in all towns 21 → 22.
  • •Tier 2: base growth in all towns 13 → 14.
  • •Starting armies for all heroes are adjusted accordingly.

Parasite

T1
Damage2–3▲2–4
Speed3▲4

Warden Parasite

T1
Damage2–3▲2–4
Speed4▲5

Ravager Parasite

T1
Damage2–3▲2–4
Speed5▲6

Locust

T2
Damage3–4▲3–5

Overgrown Locust

T2
Damage3–4▲3–5

Harvester Locust

T2
Damage4–4▲4–5

Hornet

T3
Damage4–7▲4–9

Chanter

T3
Damage4–7▲4–9

Stinger

T3
Damage4–7▲4–9

Scorpion

T4
Attack11▲12
Defense11▲12

Volcanic Scorpion

T4
Attack11▲12

Spelaean Scorpion

T4
Defense11▲12
Damage11–14▲12–14

Corpse Eater (Waurms, Devourer, Pyroboros)

T6
"Corpse Eater" passive healing65▲120

Hive Queen

T7
Initiative7▲8

Hero — starting skill

  • •Pauper: Luck → Battlecraft.
  • •Maelstrom: Insight → Luck.
  • •Nor: Battlecraft → Insight.
  • •Zoran, the Self-Founded: Nightshade Magic → Defense.
  • •Lo: Defense → Recruitment.
  • •Leira: Battle Magic → Nightshade Magic.
  • •Oriax: Recruitment → Battle Magic.
  • •Tavi: bonus to the number of Fire Larvae summoned (based on Hive army HP) 4% + 1% every 2 levels → 4% + 2% every 3 levels.

Buildings

  • •Neglected Housing I (T1 dwelling): 500 gold more expensive.
  • •Neglected Housing II (T1 dwelling): 1250 gold more expensive, no longer requires Crystals.
  • •Carrion Lair I (T2 dwelling): 500 gold more expensive.
  • •Carrion Lair II (T2 dwelling): 1750 gold more expensive, no longer requires Crystals.
  • •Paper Nest I and II (T3 dwelling): 250 gold more expensive.
  • •Chitinous Ziggurat I and II (T4 dwelling): 250 gold cheaper.
  • •Tower of Love I and II (T7 dwelling): 2500 gold cheaper.
  • •Tower of Love II (T7 dwelling): now requires 5 Wood and Ore.

Faction laws

  • •Hidden Desires: Tier 1 → 2.
  • •Focus Reserves: Tier 2 → 1.
  • •Natural Selection: Tier 4 → 3.
  • •Evolve, Adapt, Overcome: Tier 4 → 5.
  • •Prosper and Flourish: Tier 5 → 4.

Schism

Nerf

Patch 8 changes had made Schism too strong in Single Hero. Several are reverted or rebalanced: the impact is significant in Single Hero, lighter in Classic where the faction remains weak.

Ra’Shoth

T1
Initiative5▼4

Stinging Ra'shoth

T1
Initiative5▼4

Ferocious Ra’Shoth

T1
Initiative6▼5

Cultist

T2
Speed4▼3
  • •"Glance of the Abyss" ability: 15 + 3 × squad size → 12 + 2 × squad size.

Binder

T2
Attack6▼5
Speed6▼5
  • •"Glance of the Abyss" ability: 15 + 3 × squad size → 12 + 2 × squad size.

Votary

T2
Speed5▼4

Rift Arbitrator

T6
Attack24▲26
Defense26▲28
Initiative12▼10

Abyssal Envoy

T7
Initiative9▼8

Abyssal Overseer

T7
Initiative10▼9

Abyssal Executor

T7
Initiative11▼10

Buildings & Laws

  • •Cultist Spire I and II (T2 dwelling): 250 gold cheaper.
  • •"Involuntary Summons" now requires Mage Guild III to be built again.
  • •Law "The World is Ours": Tier 3 → 5 (reverting to pre-Patch 8 value).

Dungeon

Buff

Dungeon's Pandora's Box changes were missed in Patch 8: they are added here (see the Pandora's Boxes section). Dungeon is also buffed in Arena (see Arena).

Note

  • •No combat stat changes for Dungeon in this patch. Adjustments affect Pandora's Boxes (missed in Patch 8) and Arena.

Skills

Nerf

Summon Avatar

Damage per Spell Power (Advanced)18–18▼16–16
Damage per Spell Power (Expert)24–24▼20–20
  • •After Patch 8, this skill proved strong (especially in Arena). Minor damage adjustment while awaiting more data.

Spells

Riposte

  • •Day Magic. Can now be cast on Magical creatures.

Pandora's Boxes

Number of creatures granted (standard / upgraded), format before → after.

Necropolis — Graverobber

T4
std / upgraded30 / 21▲31 / 21

Hive — Hornet

T3
std / upgraded30 / 22▼28 / 20

Hive — Scorpion

T4
std / upgraded29 / 20▲32 / 22

Hive — Hive Queen

T7
std / upgraded7 / 4▲8 / 5

Dungeon — Troglodyte

T1
std / upgraded60 / 45▼50 / 35

Dungeon — Infiltrator

T2
std / upgraded35 / 25▲40 / 30

Dungeon — Onyx Dancer

T3
std / upgraded34 / 24▲34 / 25

Dungeon — Minotaur

T4
std / upgraded20 / 14▲23 / 16

Dungeon — Medusa

T5
std / upgraded21 / 15▲23 / 16

Dungeon — Hydra

T6
std / upgraded11 / 7▲12 / 8

Arena

Mixed

Minor adjustments tied to creature changes. Dungeon, underperforming in Arena, has its army sizes increased. Number of creatures offered (standard / upgraded), before → after.

Necropolis — Graverobber

T4
std / upgraded64 / 44▲68 / 46

Grove — Herbomancer

T5
std / upgraded35 / 24▲37 / 24

Schism — Ra'Shoth

T1
std / upgraded215 / 165▲220 / 165

Schism — Cultist

T2
std / upgraded100 / 75▲110 / 85

Hive — Parasite

T1
std / upgraded180 / 140▼165 / 125

Hive — Locust

T2
std / upgraded110 / 85▼105 / 80

Hive — Hornet

T3
std / upgraded70 / 50▼65 / 45

Hive — Scorpion

T4
std / upgraded58 / 40▲60 / 42

Dungeon — Troglodyte

T1
std / upgraded285 / 220▲295 / 230

Dungeon — Infiltrator

T2
std / upgraded135 / 100▲140 / 105

Dungeon — Minotaur

T4
std / upgraded50 / 34▲52 / 36

Dungeon — Medusa

T5
std / upgraded45 / 30▲47 / 31

Dungeon — Hydra

T6
std / upgraded21 / 13▲22 / 14

Dungeon — Cave Dragon

T7
std / upgraded9 / 5▲10 / 6

Bug fixes

Fixed (including bugs introduced by Patch 8)

  • •Jebus Cross: Taverns and Mage Guilds were still being built in towns in the central zone despite the intended change.
  • •Sand Clover: some guards were not spawning.
  • •Exodus: the template could still generate too many lairs of a given tier.
  • •Upgraded versions of Cultists had inconsistent recruitment costs.
  • •The casting cost of the Death Merchant's "Ensnare Memories" ability was displayed incorrectly.
  • •Bugs related to the class change of Tavi and Pauper (wrong models and Heroic Strike).
  • •The number of bonus attributes for the Temple sub-skill "Strong Faith" was displayed incorrectly.
  • •UI bug when swapping items or troops between heroes if one had active buffs/debuffs (also caused desyncs in multiplayer).
  • •Forced close via Alt+F4 during the pick & ban phase: incorrect result attribution.
  • •Army growth via "Communion of the Abyss" for the Schism AI.

Found in the data

These changes are present in the Patch 9 files and therefore already active in-game, but are not listed (or not detailed) in the official patch notes. Identified by comparing game data before and after the patch. Only already-deployed content.

Summon Avatar — Master and Grand Master tiers

  • •The notes only mention the first tiers, but the higher tiers are also nerfed: Master 30 → 24, Grand Master 36 → 28 (damage per Spell Power).

Despair (Belladone Magic)

  • •The spell loses its "curse" tag. As a result, it is no longer considered a curse and is therefore no longer affected by anti-curse effects. Not mentioned in the patch notes.

Hive law "Breeding Frenzy"

  • •Tier 2 → 1. The 5 other Hive law tier changes are documented; this one is not.

Dawn Hoplet (Grove)

T2
Attack8▼7
  • •Not mentioned in the patch notes.

Merchant of Death (Necropolis)

T4
  • •The rank of one of its abilities changes from 3 to 2. Not documented.

Recruitment costs (gold) adjusted but not detailed

  • •The patch notes mention adjustments to "recruitment costs" without providing the figures. Identified in the game data:
  • •Hive: Parasite 80 → 90, Warden/Ravager Parasite 100 → 110, Locust 125 → 130, Hornet 235 → 255, Chanter/Stinger 320 → 350, Scorpion 300 → 280, Volcanic/Spelaean Scorpion 420 → 390, Hive Queen 2200 → 2100.
  • •Schism: Cultist 170 → 165, Binder 230 → 220, Votary 210 → 220.
  • •Grove: Faun 110 → 115, Faun Archer and Faun Warrior 140 → 150, Herbomancer 660 → 640.
  • •Necropolis: Graverobber 260 → 240, Merchant of Death and Kennelmaster 360 → 340.

Internal values recalculated

  • •The "squad value" and "XP bonus" of most modified units have been recalculated. This is a mechanical consequence of the stat changes, not listed in the patch notes.